Ephraim (1823-1913) was our great-great grandfather; Hill Farmstead Brewery resides several hundred feet downhill from the land that he and his father settled. In his honor, this Imperial India Pale Ale is dutifully crafted from American malted barley, buckets of American hops, our ale yeast and water from our well. It is unfiltered, naturally carbonated, and double dry hopped. Intensely aromatic and saturated with resinous hop flavor, this is the ale that I dream to have shared with Ephraim.

Beer: Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by tewaris:

4/5 rDev -13.2%look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Mista brought it all to Darkness Day, thanks! My only "tick" from the said event.

Hazy, amber color. Duh. Looks like any and every Hill Farmstead hoppy beer and I am pleased just by the looks! Grainy and piney aroma. Very clean bitterness but well supported by a clean malt base, if that doesn't seem oxymoron-ic. A good hop flavor heavy on pine sap and citrus rind. Glad to have had it. Thank you again!

Simply said, this is as close to perfect an imperial IPA you can ask for. From the aromatic piney esters, to the cirtrusy flavors, to the soft round mouth feel, to the dry finish. This is simply outstanding. The only negative is the exclusivity that makes this hard to get. I'm sad that I may not have it again.

Poured from a growlers into a cup.A: Large head that takes a while to dissipate, lot of foam and a cloudy golden color.S: Grapefruit, lemon zest, hops.... this is without a doubt the best smelling IPA I have ever smelled. I want a candle made out of this smell, I want to make my house smell like this forever.T: Wow grapefruit and minor hop notes coat the mouth with nice overall hops.M: Balanced. very hoppy and balanced.O: Great, its like heady but better. The hops dont rush forward but rather linger to stay in your mouth for minutes.

Pours a nice slightly hazy orange with very little head (growler is 48 hours old and has been in a fridge the whole time), looks like some light bubbles and carbonation up the side. Nose is amazing! fresh grapefruit and citrus, mango and orange, very fresh and effervescent.

This is criminally good. So fruity and fresh, it's one of the all time greats of the IPA/IIPA world. It's got that east coast sweetness (think 90 min IPA) but it's got such a fresh floral, piney and bitter hop profile that's it's very west-coast oriented as well. Even 2 days old the carbonation has held up very well, although I'll say it's gone down a bit (as to be expected) from the draft version I had the other day. That being said it's still got a nice light carbonation level (which I know many of my fellow BAs appreciate) which makes it damn easy drinking.

There is a slight alcohol bite here, but at over 10% that's no surprise. Event still, I hardly notice it in the mouth - I get more of a warming sensation down my throat into the stomach.

I thought this was damn good fresh at the brewery, but I'll be honest I was a bit overwhelmed at the time with the excitement of getting up to Hill Farmstead for the first time, getting to meet Shaun, see some buddies, and get to try all this new & crazy beer that although I really enjoyed it there, I didn't appreciate it as much as I do now at home slowly sipping it. I saw another reviewer who said PtY and Heady Topper have nothing on this, I can't speak for PtY (yet) but this is in my opinion of the same caliber of Heady Topper & Hopzilla (two of my all time favorite beers).

Pours a vibrant orange glow, slightly over one inch of head on it. Nose just erupts with the juiciest aromas of tropical and citrus fruits this side of Pliny, maybe even moreso. Its magnificent and owes nothing to nobody. Sliding in with the varied fruits are plenty of pine and soft lemon. Pineapple, pine, apricot, mango, you name it, its there. Yum.

Everything that shows up in the aroma takes on a respectful assault on the palate, again, waves of tropical fruit, citrus fruit and pine envelope the tongue. There's tons of bitterness, but it comes off so smooth, and for being ten and a half percent abv, there sure is no sign on of it, this beer really tastes phenomenal and drinks effortlessly, you don't have to feel like you're getting your big boy drinking jeans on, this one just rocks so easily. The malt is so much a distant memory, but somehow manages to carry the gigantic double dry hopped triple ipa. Really one of the natural wonders of the world I says. Finishes very dry, while keeping the fruitiness and green vegetal hop mouthfeel persistently dominating the mouth. The hops are just so herbal, so tasty per bitterness unit. The best hops in massive quantity, making some great teamwork and love.

What more could a guy want? An ipa that is just bursting with hop flavors reeking of tangerine, orange, pine, lemon, melon, mint, apricot, pineapple, green apple, mango, papaya, you could go on forever.

This is what triple ipas are all about. There's really only one other in its class.